Air separator



R. M. GAY

AIR SEPARATOR March 1, 1938.

Original Fi'led Sept.- 19, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l FlG.l.

IQ IQ IIS DHUDD FIG. l0.

awuemt oz Q RUBERT M. GAY (If 01M R. M. GAY

AIR SEPARATOR l March 1, 1938.

Original Filed Sept. 19, 1928 2 Shets-Sheet 2 anvento; RUBERT Ml GAY $3M a der/nu Patented Mar. 1, 1938 AIR SEPARATOR Rubert M. Gay, Boonton Township, Morris County, N. J Elsa Katherine Gay, executrix of said Rubert M. Gay, deceased, assignor to Universal Road Machinery Company, Kingston, N. Y., a corporation of New York' Application September 19, 1928, Serial No.306,936 Renewed May 24, 1935 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for separating, grading or classifying small particles of solid material and relates particularly to that type of machine in which the particles to be graded are fed into a separating chamber, are suspended in an upwardly moving air current and caused to rotate by fans within the chamber, which rotation creates a centrifugal effect, cause ing the heavier particles to be thrown out against the inner wall of the chamber down which they settle and pass from the bottom thereof through a suitable discharge opening while the lighter particles are carried by the circulating air up and out of the chamber; this method of sizing having been invented by me as disclosed in my Patents Nos. 1,457,110 and 1,517,900.

The object of this invention is to provide a separator of novel, simple and eificient construction having provision for rotating the air which passes through the separating chamber in a manner to cause the rejection by centrifugal action of the tailings, heavier, or undesirable particles suspended in the circulating air current as it passes upwardly through the separating chamber.

Another object is to provide an air separator wherein the air is caused to rotate within a separating chamber and to pass through a centrifugal device for increasing the separating action and so arranging this centrifugal device that substantially all 'of the air will be caused to pass therethrough; producing a more uniform result and efiicient action.

Another object is, to so arrange a fluid separator that the separating action which may ordinarily be caused by the rotation induced by the centrifugal fan may be accentuated and increased by an additional centrifugal effect produced by the currents'of the air passing through the fans or revolving blades and the like so that the 'effect of the fans will be augmented to further counteract the effect of theapparatus designed to cause the ascending flow of air, producing an increased differential effect between the two counteracting influences but with the upward influence predominating.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple means to vary the amount of rotation imparted to the circulating air column thereby changing the centrifugal effect on the particles in suspension and varying the weight of the particles rejected.

A still further object is to provide means for introducing finely divided particles within a separator of the class above referred to and utilizing means for distributing these finelydivided particles in the form of a rotating distributor plate having flanges or upturned projections thereon so arranged as to cause an upward. deflection of the particles thus securing a better distribution of said particles. 1

Other and ancillary objects of the Will appear hereinafter. In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention- Fig. 1 is a central I vertical sectional 'view through a separator embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; p

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detailed view of a fan blade which may be utilized in my'separator, indicating a modified construction;

Fig. 4 is another modified form of fan blade; Fig. 5 shows a sectional detailed view of still another modified form of fan-blade;

Fig. 6 shows atop plan view and arrangement invention of parts of the fan blade construction indicated .fan blade construction in elevation; Y

Fig. 8shows a top planview of the construction and arrangement-of parts indicated in the modifiedforms of Figs. 5 and '7;-

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view showing afragment of a fan illustrating a modified construction whereby'its effectiveness may be varied;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a partial vertical section showing a still further modified construction of adjustable fan.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the casing 5 consists of a cylindrical upper portion and a tapered or conical lower portion.

-Withinthe outercasing is the inner structure classifying chamber I2, its open bottom providing an inlet for air and the outlet for tailings, and the top opening l3 providing an outlet for air and forthe fines carried by the air. 7

The material to be separated or classified is fed into the chamber l2 through a feed pipe [6 which extends centrally through the top cover l5 of the outer casing 5 and through a hollow shaft H, which also extends through the cover l5. The hollow shaft I1 is mounted in upper and lowerbearings l8 and I9 respectively carried by a hollow casting 20 which is mounted on the top cover I5 of the casing 5. The shaft I1 is provided with a bevel gear wheel 2| in mesh with a similar wheel 22 which turns in bearings 23 mounted in the bracket 20. The shaft 24 rigidly connected to gear 22 is provided with apulley or other driver 25 and supported by an outer bearing 26.

The shaft l'l carries two round horizontally disposed discs or plates 28 and 29 within the separating chamber rigidly connected thereto and spaced the requisite distance apart, the upper plate 28 being carried by a flange or a collar 33 and the lower plate 29 carried by the shaft l1,

spaced from the ends thereof by means of spacers 3| and bolts 32 secured to flange 33. ;The upper 7 plate 28 may be arranged in a well known manner so as to be adjustable in a vertical direction as by threadedly securing the flange to which it is fastened and looking it in place with lock nuts.

The structure described above, is the same in a reat many respects as that indicated in my previous Patents Nos. 1,457,110 and 1,517,900. The general functioning of the parts just described is substantially the same andthe present devices operate for the same purposes but with improved or additional features to be described.

1 Above the upper plate l4 of the inner casing 6 there is arranged the fan 31 having blades 38 comprising the arms 35 to which the sections 43 are secured, the arms 35 being bolted or otherwise removably secured to a flange or flanges 38 fixed to the shaft IT. The blade sections 43 are adjustably or removably attached thereto. It is desirable to have the fan 31 substantially fill the space between the top l4 of easing 6 and the top l5 of the outer casing 5.

Upon theupper horizontal or baflie plate 28 are attached blades 43 composed of sections 44 adjustably or removably attached as by bolting. It is desirable thatthese blades 43, comprising a second fan device, be located in the upper part of the casing 6 so that substantially all the air which passes through the opening [3 will necessarily pass between the blades 43 of the fan 45.

The inner casing 6 is supported by means of brackets 48 and the lower or conical portion 1 of the casing 6 is attached thereto. A circular series of vertically arranged, spaced V-shaped baffies is positioned between the conical portion 1 and the tailings cone 8 on which they may depend for support.- This tailings cone 8 may be anchored or secured in any desirable manner to the lower portion of the outer casing 5 such as by means shown in my' previous Patent No. 1,517,900 referred to.f These baffles are more clearly shown in Fig. 2 andconsi'st'of Vishaped elements 50'with their vertices all in one direc- 7 tion and arranged in a circular path, pointing in a direction opposite to that in which it is desired to rotate the fans above referred to. The arrangements and spacings of the various blades of the fan 45 together with the baille 28 are also clearly shown in this figure.

The blades comprising the fan element may be constructed in any desired manner but the most preferable construction, both for ease'in manufacture and efiiciency in operation and adjustment, are shown in Figs. 3 to 10 inclusive. Thus,,in Fig. 3, a blade is shown having the sections 52 directly secured to an angle iron 53, constituting the arm,-by means of bolts 54. Or

(see Fig. 4) individual off-set supporting lugs 55 may carry the sections 55 by means of bolts, or otherwise, in such a way that the section 56 may be rotated thereon into a horizontal or vertical or intermediate position. The plan view of such an arrangement is indicated in Fig. 6 showing that the different sections may be offset in order to facilitate rotation thereof.

The various sections may be spaced from an angle piece 51 in ,a manner indicated in Figs. 5, 7 and 8 by means of spacing sleeves 58 and bolts '59 Such sections (50) may be either arranged entirely on one side of the angle piece (see Fig. 7) orextending. on both sides thereof (see Fig. 5) according to the type of fan construction desired. Either type could be readily used for the upper fan 31 but it is preferable to use the type indicated having the section extending upwardly only, for use in connection with the fan 45. However I do not desire to be so limited but also intend that such construction utilizing the sections extending in' both directions from the angle pieces might also be. utilized in connection with the fan 45. v

In order to maintain a more efficient distribution of the particles which may be fed through the pipe IS, an upturned'flange 6| of angular or othersection may be arranged near or at the outer edge of the distributingvplate 29.

This flange acts to produce an upward thrust on the .materialsfed onto the plate 29 thereby maintainto it in the desired numbers for instance, there may be 4, 6, 8, 12 or 24 vanes or blades, there being 24 pairs of holes (one pair for each vane) and the number may be reduced by simply unbolting the blades and removing them until the desired vanes remain. The outer edges of these vanes are shown as broken away in the Figures 9 and 10.

In Fig. 11 is shown a construction of fan wherein the plate or arm ,28' which is bolted to or otherwise removably secured to the shaft 11' as shown, has secured to it an upright 10 to which may be bolted the fan sections *Il movable in and out, toward and away from the shaft and secured in any desired position by the reason of a series of holes in each section which respectively come into registry with a hole in the upright 10 in the different positions of adjustment so that the section may be bolted in this position to the upright,

and so' secured in the position; As illustrated in the figure, one of the fan sections (the uppermost) is secured at a position inward of the other sections which are extended outward to their limit, and it will be apparent that any and all of these sections may be adjusted at positions varying from theshaft as may be desired to cause the desired operation. It will be observed that the adjustment of the sections. inwardly and outwardly permits the diameter of the fan to be decreased or increased so that the diameter of the fan may be extended outwardly beyond the edges of the has a series of holes so that blades may be bolted the fan may be lessened so that its outer ex-' tremity is within the edge of the hole [3, or the sections may be variously adjusted so that some will extend outside the edge of the hole while others are within that edge.

Manholes or handholes may be provided in the various casings 5 and 8 in the usual manner to provide access to the inner parts for purposes of adjustment, removal and variation of position of the sections on the blades of the fans. These manholes could well be located in the upper plate l5 for purposes of adjustment of fans 31 and 45 or through the side 5 of the outer casing as well as through the casing 6 closely adjacent thereto, in order to more readily adjust and vary the number of sections on the fan 45. However these adjustments might readily be made prior to assembling of the apparatus at the factory and arranged in a predetermined manner for accomplishing most successfully the work for which the type of separator specified is desired to be accomplished.

In operation, the materials to be separated are fed through the feed pipe It, the rotating element having been set in motion by a suitable driving means connected to the pulley 25. The rotation of the fan .31 causes a draft of air outwardly through the path described by this fan, sucking the air inwardly through the baflie 5H3 upwardly through the separating chamber and classifying zone l2 from the lower portion of this chamber through the opening 13, and then downwardly between the casings 5 and 6 in a substantially complete circuit. The rotation of the fan 45 causes a counteracting influence and produces a centrifugal action which is opposing and differential to that produced by the fan 31, said centrifugal action causing a separating of the heavier particles from the lighter suspended in the air within and surrounding the path described by this fan. The rotation of the lower plate 29 causes an outward force to be applied upon the material introduced thereon by the pipe I6, forcibly throwing it outwardly, striking the upward projection 6| in such a way as to toss the materials into the air giving them a considerable upward thrust. This upward thrust causes the particles to be more uniformly distributed in the rising and rotating air current causing a more rapid segregation of the particles of various sizes under the influence of the centrifugal force induced by the fan 45.

The heavier particles being acted on more strongly by centrifugal force than the lighter ones, reach the inner wall of the separating chamber 6 down which they slide falling off the lower edge of cone 1 (passing through the incoming air current) passing down through the tailings cone 8 and out through pipe 9.

The lighter material or fines remaining in the upwardly moving air current passes inwardly through the fan 45, upwardly through the opening l3 back through the fan 31 into the space between casing 5 and 6 and then cleared of dust and reenters.

Inasmuch as the bafiles 50 are arranged to tend to throw outwardly particles striking against them according to the rotation given these particles by the rotating fan blade, a more complete separation is thereby produced and the smaller particles which are rotated downwardly, by the fan 45, between the casings 5 and 6 and through the lower portion of the casings 5 to be drawn oif at the bottom thereof, are less likely to be drawn inwardly through the bafile 50 on account of this arrangement of parts.

The sinuous passages through the bafiles change the direction of the air currents passing and below the top plate [4 of the separating cham-' ber outside of the path of the fan blades 44 allows the particles to segregate in the rotated air current and the bafile 28 will cause all of the upwardly J'acent the outer periphery of the fan 45 in such a way that substantially all of this air will necessarily pass between the blades of the-fan.

The passage of the air in a substantially horizontal direction thereby improving the classifying effect, inasmuch as the particles in suspension will receive an intensified centrifugal action within the fan path causing a further classification and the remaining heavier particles will be thrown outward while the lighter particles will remain iri the air current and are drawn out through opening [3.

When it is desired that different degrees of fineness, of the particles to-be separated out, be acqu red. the various sections of the fan blades 43 as well as of the fan blade 38 may be varied, adjusted "or removed accordingly so that the different velocities of air and different intensities of rotation may be maintained in the different portions of the circuit through which the air circulates. Also the baffle plates may be varied in position to vary the classifying zone above it.

This construction, together with the other features indicated herein cooperate to provide a completely operable, easily adjustable separator,

having a wide range of uses and not open to the objectional features which have hereto-forebeen present in previous types of separators.

While the invention has been illustrated in what are considered its best applications, it may have other embodiments'with-out departing from its spirit and is not, therefore limited to the structures shown in the drawings.

What I claim is:. I, V v i 1. In an air separator and in combination, a separating chamber formed within ,a casing, means to supply a current of air through the casing, a fan having a plurality of blades within the chamber and means for causing substantially all of the said, currents of air to circulate between the blades of the fan, said blades co sisting of fo-ldable sections, slightly spaced apart circumferentially, to vary the eifect of the fan,

means to cause a current of air through the casing, a fan having a plurality of blades within the chamber and means for causing substantially all of the air currents to circulate between the blades of the fan, said blades consisting of sections slightly spaced apart circumferentially and pivo-tally connected toa rotating part of said fan.

3. In an air separator, the combination with a separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, a rotatable shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor spaced from the outlet a suitable distance to provide a sizable classifying zone between, a device in said zone having vanes each comprising a plurality of sections which may be attached or detached to vary the size of the vanes and the air rotation in the separating zone to increase or decrease the cenrising air to pass between it and the casing ii ad- 4. In an air separator, the combinationwith a separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, a rotatableshaft, extendingcentrally into the chamber, adistributor spaced: fromthe outlet a'suitabledistance to providea sizeable classifying zone between, a device in said zone, plate-like members positioned'on said device and radially displaced to different distances from said shaft, said members being adapted to be attached or detached to vary the: air rotation in the classifying zone to increase or decrease the centrifugal effect on particles of material-suspended in the air current, means to connect the device and distributor to the shaft, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means to feed particles of material on to the distributor and means to rotate the shaft.

5. In an air separator, the combination with a separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, a rotatable shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor plate secured to said shaft and spaced from the said outlet opening a suitable distance to provide a sizeable classifying zone between, separately movable vane sections in said zone secured to said shaft and radially displaced to different distances therefrom, a baffle plate in said zone between said distributor plate and said outlet opening and secured to said shaft, said vane sections being adapted to be attached or detached to vary the classifying effect in said zone upon particles of material in the air current, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means tofeed particles of material on to the distributor plate and means to rotate the shaft.

6. In an air separator, the combination with a separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, 'a'rotatable shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor plate secured to said shaft and spaced from the said outlet opening a suitable distance to provide a sizeable classifying zone between, separately movable vane sections in said zone secured torsaid shaft and radially displaced to different distances therefrom, a baffle plate between said distributor plate and said vane sections and secured to said shaft, said vane sections being adapted to be attached or detached to vary the classifying effect in said zone upon particles of material in the air current, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means to feed particles of material on to thedistributor plate and means to rotate the shaft.

, '7. In an air separator, the combination with a separating chamberhaving inlet and outlet openings, a rotatable-shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor plate secured to said shaft and spaced from the outlet a suitable distance to provide a' sizeable classifying zone'between, separately movable vanesections in said zone and secured to said shaft, said vane sections being adapted to be attached or detached to vary the classifying effect in said zone upon particles of material in the air current, a baffle plate between said distributor plate and said vane sections and secured to said shaft, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means to feed particles of material on to the said distributor plate and means to rotate the shaft.

8. In an air separator, the combination with a separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, a rotatable shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor plate secured to said shaft and spaced from the said outlet opening a suitable distance tol provide a sizeable classifying zone between, separately movable vane sections in said zone secured to said shaft and radially. displaced to different distances therefrom, a baffle plate between said distributor plate and said vane sections and secured to said shaft, said baffle plate being of'a radius at least as great as the distance ofthe outermost point of said sections from the shaft center, said vane sections being adapted to be. attached or detached to vary the classifying effect in said zone upon;

particles of material in the air current, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means to feed particles of material on to the distributor plate and means to. rotate the shaft.

9. In an air separator, the combination witha separating chamber having inlet and outlet openings, a rotatable shaft extending centrally into the chamber, a distributor spaced from the outlet a'suitable distanceto provide a sizeable classifying zone between, a. device in said zone having vanes each comprising. a plurality of sections separately movable to vary the size of the vanes and the air rotation in the. separating zone to increase or decrease the centrifugal effect on particles of material suspended in the air current, means to connect said device and distributor plate to the shaft, means to cause a current of air to circulate through the chamber, means to feed particles of material on to the distributor plate and means to rotate the shaft.

7 RUBER'I, M. GAY. 

